Skinner is simply sublime ... She seduces you in one minute and breaks your heart in the next.

— Liz Smith | NY Post

Miss Skinner is a blissfully improbable hybrid of Merman and Dietrich, a steamroller vamp who sizzles and belts in one breath.

— Ben Brantley | NY Times

A standout performer, Skinner shows both the remarkable range and the stage savvy of a true Broadway great.

— USA Today

An engaging comedienne who performs with bright panache, she manages to amuse without ever striking a false note.

— Ben Brantley | NY Times

Emily Skinner delivers one memorable showstopper after another with impeccable timing and a magnetic presence.

— NY Daily News

She delivers a brilliant performance with a soaring voice and comedic timing that befits a 1940s screwball comedy heroine.

— NY Daily News

Skinner’s voice is absolutely ravishing, filled with a rich warmth from top to bottom. I could listen to her sing just about anything.

— Wall Street Journal

Emily in A Little Night Music at American Conservatory Theatre

Emily Skinner radiates stardom!

— DCtheatrescene.com

Emily in Dirty Blonde by Justin Squigs Robertson

Emily in Billy Elliot by Justin Squigs Robertson

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At the Strathmore’s new AMP venue last night, musical theater star and singer extraordinaire Emily Skinner, dazzled the crowd-with her always winning combination of a soaring purity of tone and the ability to interpret a lyric like Frank or Ella. Skinner’s voice is truly one to make the Gods envious; her vocal instrument can plummet to a low growl or peak to a silvery silken soprano. Indeed, they should be lining up to compose original new musicals for this woman!

But audiences won’t forget Emily Skinner as The Witch, the stand-out performance of the evening. With an uncanny sense of timing and physical comedy, Skinner’s voice as the angry and abusive witch is sheer perfection. Her transformation into a stunning beauty after striking a deal in which she loses her powers is something to behold.

Skinner’s performance as Phyllis was mythical. I don’t use that word lightly, but this performance warrants the compliment. Skinner gave her role a sense of class, dignity, and emotional depth that cracked my cynical crust. Skinner had me in the palm from the moment she hit the stage in that jaw-dropping, gorgeous red gown that lovingly hugged her every curve. Her elocution was another aspect that I found endearing. She was serving Marsha Mason mixed with Jane Fonda—you don’t get that treat every day in the Midwest. Needless to say, her vocal performances were stunning. She performed the tongue twister, “The Story of Lucy and Jessie” flawlessly while completely flooring me with her heart-stopping rendition of “Could I Leave You?” During the latter, Skinner summoned up the rage of every jilted, heart-broken, and fighting mad woman and unleashed it all in her performance making this song the highlight of the show.

Skinner doesn’t just earn laughs. She conjures sighs and tears, and in her best moments she’s like Medusa, stunning you into stony silence. “Children Will Listen” is one of Stephen Sondheim’s emotional master strokes, a wrenching finale, that, in the hands of Skinner, asserts the importance of storytelling.

Emily Skinner is priceless as the chaperone, a performance lovingly inspired by Carol Burnett’s masterful take on Norma Desmond. Skinner lends a disarming sense of humor to her role as the tipsy chaperone, a characterization that sparkles with originality and sends ripples of laughter throughout the auditorium. Her “As We Stumble Along” is a textbook example of how to play comedy.